\n\t\t\t\t\tVeteran journalist Peter Ryan, who retired from ABC a month ago after a 45 year career in journalist, has died.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Veteran journalist Peter Ryan, who retired from ABC a month ago after a 45 year career in journalist, has died, aged 64.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ABC is deeply saddened by the death of our great friend and esteemed colleague Peter Ryan. After a distinguished 45-year career in journalism Peter retired from the ABC last month due to ill health,\u201d ABC said in a brief statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe extend our heartfelt condolences to Peter\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryan began his career as a copyboy and cadet on Sydney\u2019s Daily Mirror, and has held a variety of jobs over the years, but describes the ABC as his \u201cspiritual home\u201d.<\/p>\n
His outstanding work in TV and radio news and current affairs, including his reporting for flagships AM, The World Today and PM, has made him a familiar face and voice to many Australians and earned him the enduring respect and appreciation of audiences and his peers.<\/p>\n
His many career highlights include being the ABC\u2019s Washington Bureau Chief, head of TV news and current affairs in Victoria, Executive Producer of Business Breakfast, founding editor of Lateline Business, which later became The Business, and Business Editor. Since 2016 he held the role of Senior Business Correspondent.<\/p>\n
In 2017 he won a Walkley Award for his expose on the Commonwealth Bank scandal. His coverage contributed to the calling of the banking Royal Commission and in 2018 he was the National Press Club finance journalist of the year for his coverage of the commission.<\/p>\n
In 2022 he was recognised with the Order of Australia medal for his significant service to journalism.<\/p>\n
Ryan has been a mentor to many younger journalists, generous with his time and experience. He was founding chairman of the Kennedy Foundation, a trustee on the board of the NSW Journalists Benevolent Fund and has had a long-term involvement with journalists\u2019 union the MEAA.<\/p>\n
After announcing his retirement only a month ago, Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said of Ryan, \u201cPeter Ryan is an absolute legend. Every day as you wake up and you think about what\u2019s happening in the economy, if you only needed to listen to one voice to be sure that you got its essential elements, it would be Peter\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
ABC Director, News Justin Stevens said last month, \u201cIn my conversations with Peter over the past year I\u2019ve been inspired by his resilience, courage and humility. It\u2019s devastating news that he is having to retire. We will miss him greatly, and also his strong journalism and authoritative analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter Ryan shares his highs and lows from 45 years:<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what have I learned from 45 years in journalism? This is for younger and older colleagues alike.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I look back at my start on Sydney\u2019s Daily Mirror in 1980, as an 18-year-old straight out of school, we were still printing newspapers off hot metal. People were smoking in newsrooms and there was a lot of yelling as deadlines ran down to the wire.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents were absolutely delighted when I was finally hired by the ABC in 1984. Our TV always seemed to be stuck on Channel 2, we were forced to watch the 7pm news every night and I had to listen to AM and PM in the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to be with you all there, but one strong message I have is, never let anyone tell you the good old days were really that good \u2013 that\u2019s a bit of a myth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to thank the ABC for taking so many risks with me over the years, giving me my dream of a foreign posting in Washington and then into big editorial roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for me in the end it\u2019s all about being a reporter out in the real world telling it as it is. I\u2019m always chuffed when I hear people tell me you\u2019re able to take complex issues and break them down into three good parts. When someone tells me that, that\u2019s more important than a whole lot of awards.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few words of editorial advice. Avoid cynicism \u2013 be passionate. A good team can often be a very small team \u2013 I\u2019ve worked in some of the best. Be proactive \u2013 come to the table with a great story so no one else comes up with a dud that might waste your time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWork closely with top people \u2013 shut up and absorb like a sponge. Maintain a fastidious contact book \u2013 some low-profile contacts could soon move into higher powered roles or more importantly work in backrooms where the big decisions are often made.<\/p>\n
\u201cShow up to work early and prove that you\u2019re ready to take on the big story of the day. Try to have a Plan B in your back pocket just in case your original brilliant idea doesn\u2019t go anywhere and the EP comes walking your way.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinally: Be kind and caring to people who need it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Veteran journalist Peter Ryan, who retired from ABC a month ago after a 45 year career in journalist,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10097,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":{"0":"post-10096","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}